Market Place is wonderful - Slumb

Apparently, Boston looks like benefiting from a small sum of money over a long period of time if English Heritage decides to help with the refurbishment and revamping of the town centre.
The oft-told Boston story of jam tomorrow ... rather than jams today.
According to an item on BBC Radio Lincolnshire EH officials fear that Boston risks losing some of its great heritage and considers the town one of the most significant market towns in the country "heritagewise." (sic)
All contributions gratefully received as they say, but what depresses us is the way that people talk when they speak about the town.
Assistant Chief Executive Steve Lumb told the wireless:- "Having a market place, an open square that we have right alongside St Botolph's is actually wonderful, but at the moment as we look at it, it does look rather tired; the street furniture is looking rather tired and essentially it's not much more than perhaps a large car park. So we need to make much more of that - we need to redesign it. We need to keep what's special about it and we need to make it a place that people really enjoy coming to."
So what are you saying Mr Lumb? If it's so wonderful why do we need to redesign it? And if it does look rather tired, whose fault it that? And why are we waiting for English Heritage to come along with a few quid when the council is spending willy nilly on things such as the PRSA and probably another Party in the Park.
Later in his interview, Mr Lumb described Boston's heritage as: ..... "really second to none. Sometimes we smile when we compare it to York, but really it is very comparable to York ... except York has had its money and in terms of listed buildings, in terms of its archaeology. Really there is nothing much else to beat it (Boston) in the East Midlands."
Hmmm.
English Heritage Historic Areas Advisor Clive Fletcher was interviewed as well, and spouted similar guff:- "Boston is one of the most important market towns in the country, but it's more important than that even - partially because of its past. It was a very important port in the medieval period - busier than London at times - so it was a very, very important medieval town and because of that it's got a great heritage of medieval building and also medieval archaeology. "But unfortunately it's fallen on harder times. Over the past number of years it hasn't really had a great deal of investment in a lot of its historic properties so a lot of them are in danger of not collapse necessarily, though there are one or two like that, but certainly they're not being used because they can't be - holes in roofs and things like that - and also general decline in the quality of repairs to things like shop fronts and windows which we think we could possibly help with.
"I know the council is actually looking at a package themselves from the regional development agency but we do this sort of thing up and down the country. We don't invest massive amounts every year but when we're interested in a place we'll consistently invest over a period of time. It might take seven or eight years to regenerate a place. In Boston it might take longer" (it almost certainly will, as it usually does!)
In one town they spent 15 years helping shop owners do their places up and convert space over shops for residential use.
The whole broadcast piece was linked by Radio Lincolnshire's very own Boston-born star Scott Dalton, whom one might expect to speak English as he works for the BBC.
He tore himself away from the York Street locker rooms to tell us:- "Boston Borough Council are rubbing their hands with glee. They see this as an open goal and they must score and put the ball in the back of the net because this all ties in with Merchants Quay and making more of the river feature."
To drive home the point, he told us that this could really make Boston a gem "and even a tourist attraction possibly in the future."
And he added that "English Heritage have started talking with Boston Borough working up this plan to potentially refurbish the whole of the town centre and work on a long term plan. People at the council are very excited about this . They feel that this, tied in with some of the other developments going on, could finally possibly realise Boston's potential which its felt hasn't possibly made the most of what they've got in the past."
We don't know what it is these chaps are smoking, but we wish we could get hold of some.

Write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mail will be treated in confidence if requested.